Shelf structure



July 13, 1965 E. F. HAMILTON ETAL 3,

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SHELF STRUCTURE Filed 1963 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 J y 1965 E. F. HAMILTON ETAL 3,1 8

SHELF STRUCTURE Filed Feb. 11, 1963 7 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTORS- EARL E HAMILTON, BY DONALD L. MooRE RALPH B. LAY fi a-wqvg July 13, 1965 E. F. HAMILTON ETAL 3,

SHELF STRUCTURE 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Feb. 11, 1963 INVENTORS. EARL E HAMILTON, DONALD L. MooRE RALPH B. LAY ,8

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July 13, 1965 E. F. HAMILTON ETAL 3,194, 88

SHELF STRUCTURE Filed Feb. 11, 1963 7 Sheets-Sheet 7 r 9Z- i W1 9a I i\ 7% :T 62

mi, a uww TTORNEWEL' United States Patent g ce r 3,194,188 SHELF STRUCTURE Earl F. Hamilton, Donald L. Moore, and Ralph B. Lay, Columbus, Ind, assignors to Hamilton 'Cosco, Inc, Columbus, Ind, a corporation of Indiana Fiied Feb. 11, 1963, Ser. No. 257,679 14 Claims. (Cl. 198-452) This invention relates to a shelf structure, and more particularly to a shelf structure for mounting on a desk, cabinet, or the like to form an extension thereon.

It is an object of this invention to provide a shelf structure which can be mounted on a desk, cabinet, or the like, in a pair of drawer supports, which can be quickly and easily inserted and withdrawn from said supports but which can be releasably locked in position in said supports, which can be economically manufactured largely from sheet-metal and metal-tubing, and which will be of attractive appearance yet prove sturdy and durable in use.

According to the preferred form of the invention, there is provided a generally U-shaped frame having a bight at one of its ends interconnecting a pair of generally parallel arms adapted to be received in a pair of supporting members, such as a pair of drawer-supporting channels in a desk, cabinet, or the like. A shelf is mounted on said frame in a position to overlay the frame bight and the ends of the frame arms adjacent said bight. Thus, when said frame is inserted into a pair of said drawer-supporting channels, the shelf will project outwardly from the structure in which said channels are carried in a plane parallel to the plane of the top of said structure to form an extension thereon.

A transversely extending plate is mounted on the pair of frame arms in a plane normal to the plane of the shelf. The plate is rigidly interconnected to the shelf adjacent the shelf end overlaying the frame arms so that said frame, plate, and shelf are rigidly interconnected and cross-braced. Preferably, locking means are mounted on the face of said plate remote from a shelf for releasably locking the shelf structure in position in the drawersupporting channels.

Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent from the more detailed description which follows and from the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a desk showing a shelf structure embodying the invention mounted thereon;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary plan View of the shelf structure shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a vertical section taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary vertical section taken on the line 4-4 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary horizontal section taken on the line 5-5 of FIG. 4'

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary vertical section taken on the line 6-6 of FIG. 2,

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the modesty panel shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a vertical section taken on the line 88 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 11 is a vertical section taken on the line 11-11 of FIG.

FIG. 12 is a vertical section taken on the line 1212 of FIG. 11, but showing the shelf structure mounted in a desk.

3,194,188 Patented July 13,1965

FIG. 13 is a vertical section taken on the line 13-13 of FIG. 10;

FIG. 14 is a horizontal section taken on the line 14-14 of FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a horizontal section taken on the line 15- 15 of FIG. 12; and

16 is a horizontal of FIG. 12.

The shelf structure comprising this invention may be mounted on a denk, cabinet, or the like, but for purposes of illustration said shelf structure will be described herein as it is used in combination with a desk. When it is used in such combination, the modfication illustrated in FIGS. 1-8 may be employed as a typewriter supporting shelf for thus converting a conventional desk into a typewriter desk. When the modification illustrated in FIGS. 9-16 is used in combination with a desk, it converts a conventional desk into an L-shaped desk having a pair of work section taken on the line 16-16 surfaces whose longitudinal axes are at right angles to each other. of illustration said shelf structure will be described herein As shown in FIG. 1, a double pedestal desk may comprise a pair of pedestals 16 supported in laterally spaced relationship on a plurality of ground-engageable legs 12 and interconnected at their upper ends by a top 14. Each of the pedestals Itl houses one o more drawers 16 which are supported therein on pairs of opposed inwardly open channels 18 mounted along the pedestal sidewalls 20, as on vertically extending braces 22. Normally the pedestal side walls 2% are further braced a transversely extending brace 2 which is rigidly connected to the vertically extending braces 22 and the desk top 14.

The shelf structure illustrated in views 18 is primarily adapted for use as a typewriter insert. To adapt the desk shown in FIG. 1 for mounting the shelf structure shown in FIG. 2 thereon, it is merely necessary to remove the upper drawer from one of the pedestals ltl so that the channels 18 supporting said drawer are free to support the shelf structure. It is to be understood, of course, that the shelf structure may be supported in the drawer channels for any one of the drawers 16, but mounting the priate working height.

The shelf structure shown in FIG. 2 comprises a frame 26 conveniently formed from a length of metal-tubing bent into a U-shape to provide a pair of parallel arms 28 interconnected at one of their ends by a hight 30 and cross-braced at thei opposite end by a transversely e1- tending rod 32. Desirably, the arms 28 are bent upwardly intermediate their ends, as at 33, to position the night 345 and the ends of the arms adjacent said bight at a greater vertical height than the height of the drawer channels 18. Supported on the frame 26 is a shelf 34 conveniently formed from sheet-metal. As shown, said shelf has a peripherally extending inwardly open channel having a web forming a depending shelf skirt 36 and a lower leg 3'7 parallel to the plane of the top shelf surface. The channel stretches extending along the front edge and one side edge of the shelf 34 are received over the frame bight 3t and one of the frame arms 28, but the channel stretches along the rear and opposite side edges of the shelf are spaced above and laterally outwardly from the frame arms 28, respectively.

The shelf 34 is mounted on the frame by a pair of As shown in FIG. 4, each of said brackets 42 project rearwardly beyond the shelf 34 and terminate in upwardly extending stretches 46 rigidly connected as by welding to a transversely extending plate projecting above and below the shelf 34 and abutting the rear edge thereof. Adjacent its lower end the plate 43 has a pair of openings formed therein for reception of said plate over the frame arms 28. Desirably, a pair of rearwardly projecting ears are formed on the plate 43 adjacent each of the arm-receiving openings and are connected to the frame arms 28, as by screws 52. In this manner the plate 48, arms 28, and shelf are rigidly interconnected to and cross-brace each other.

A bracket is mounted on the-rearwardly presented face of the plate 48 adjacent the upper end thereof and comprises a pair of laterally spaced arms 55 interconnected at their upper ends by a top wall 56. A latch 53 conveniently formed of spring-steel is mounted on the lower face of the top wall 56 as by a rivet dd. Said latch has a pair of upwardly projecting fingers 62 provided with inclined rear edges 63 extending through an opening formed in the top wall 56 for locking engagement with the pedestal brace 24 for releasably locking the shelf structure on said pedestal. The forward end of the latch 58 is hooked downwardly, as at 64, and is disposed in a position of access by an opening formed 'in the plate 48 in alignment with said latch. Desirably,

a smooth edged grommet 66 is mounted in the plate opening to enhance the appearance thereof and to cover the sharp edges of said opening. Conveniently, the grommet 66 has peripherally extending groove formed around its outer circumference and received over the edges of the plate opening for mounting it in said openmg.

A modesty panel 68 is mounted on the shelf 34 along the lateral shelf edge spaced from the frame 26. As shown in FIG. 3, the modesty panel 68 has an out-turned flange 70 along its upper end supported on the channel leg 37 and rigidly connected thereto, as by screws '74, for mounting said panel on the shelf. A pair of channels '72 extend along the opposed ends of said panel to give rigidity to said panel and to abut channel leg 37 to give added rigidity to the panel-shelf interconnection.

Thus, to mount the shelf structure shown in FIG. 2 in a desk, it is merely necessary to remove one of the desk drawers, and then insert the frame arms 28 into the vacated drawer-supporting channels 18. The arms 23 are moved inwardly in said channels until the plate 48 is disposed in substantially the vertical plane of the front face of the desk pedestal 10. During such inward movement, the edges 63 of latch fingers 62 will engage the forward edge of the pedestal brace 24 to cam the latch 58 downwardly to clear said brace, and after the fingers have cleared said brace, they will be sprung back upwardly into their locked position shown in FIG. 4 by the inherent resiliency of the latch. To remove the shelf structure from the desk it is merely necessary to disengage the fingers 62 from the brace 24 by pulling the latch downwardly, and then extract the arms 28 from the drawer channels 18.

The modification of the invention illustrated in FiGS. 9-16 is adapted to be mounted on a desk to form a substantial extention of the desk work surface area, and is mounted on a desk in the same manner as the modification previously described. As shown in FIG. 10, the shelf structure comprises a supporting frame 26 formed of metal-tubing bent into a U-shape to provide a pair of parallel arms 28 integrally connected at one of their ends by a bi'ght 30 and cross-braced adjacent their opposite ends by a transversely extending rod 32. The arms 28' are receivable in the drawer channels 18 and are bent upwardly intermediate their lengths, as at 33 for locating the shelf at a comfortable working height when the frame is mounted in one of the upper drawer spaces.

An extended rectangular shelf 34 is mounted on the frame 26' and comprises a sheet-metal panel 75 preferably having decorative cover 76 extending thereover and connected thereto by bonding and by a peripherally extending clip 78}. As shown in FIG. 12, the clip 78 has an inwardly open channel bindingly received over the panel 75' and cover 76, with the lower leg of said channel having an offset 79 formed therein. Secured to the lower face of the panel '75 is a trim molding having an inwardly projecting leg 80 connected to said panel inwardly from the peripheral edge thereof and provided with an offset 81 in which the clip ofiset '73 is received. The leg 3% is continuous with a skirt 82 projecting downwardly from the clip 78 and terminating at its lower edge in an inwardly bent leg 84 parallel to the leg 88. The shelf 34' is strengthened adjacent its peripheral edges by a plurality of braces, each of which comprises an upper leg 86 connected to the panel '75 inwardly from the molding leg 8% and interconnected to a lower outwardly projecting leg 88 by a web 8% the leg 88 being parallel with the panel '75. The shelf is further braced by one or more longitudinally extending upwardly open channels having legs 96 connected to the lower face of the panel '75 and interconnected by a web 91.

As shown in FIG. 12, the shelf 34 overlays the frame bight 3% and the ends of the arms 28 adjacent said bight and projects outwardly beyond the frame 26. Said shelf is connected to frame 26 by a pair of brackets 38' bolted, as at 40 to arms 28 within the extent of their offsets 33'. Each of the brackets 38 has a stretch 42' projecting rearwardly from the connection to the arm 28' against the brace leg 83 extending along the rear of the shelf 34' and connected thereto by a screw 44' received in an offset formed in the leg 88. The bracket stretches d2 project rearwardly beyond the shelf 34' and are contlnuous with upwardly projecting stretches 46' rigidly connected as by welding to a transversely extending plate 48' projecting above and below the plane of the shelf 34 and abutting said shelf along its rear edge. The plate 48' has a pair of openings formed therein for reception of said plate on the frame arms 28', and adjacent each of said openings, said plate is provided with a pair of rearwardly projecting ears 50 connected to the arms 28' as by screws 52';

A bracket is mounted on the rearwardly presented face of the plate 48 adjacent its upper end and comprises a palr of arms 55 interconnected at their upper ends by a top wall 56' to which a spring-latch 58' is connected, as by a rivet 60'. The forward end of the latch 58 is hooked downwardly, as at 64', and a pair of upwardly projectmg fingers 62 having inclined rear edges 63' are formed on said latch intermediate its lengths. The fingers 62 project through an opening in the top Wall .56 for locking reception against the transversely extending pedestal brace 24 for locking the shelf on a desk. To dlspose the latch 58' in a position of access, an opening is formed in the plate 48' above the shelf 34', and a smooth edged grommet 66 is mounted in said opening as by providing said grommet with an outwardly open groove received over the edges of said opening.

The end of the shelf 34' projecting outwardly from the frame 26' is supported on a leg frame comprising a pair of ground-engageable legs 92 interconnected at their upper ends by a transversely extending stretcher 94 and at points intermediate their lengths by a transversely extending stretcher 96. As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the legs 92 are connected to the shelf 34 by a pair of brackets 98, each which comprises a flange 1% connected to the adjacent leg 92 by a bolt W2 received in a nut 1M mounted within the leg 92. The flange tee is connected by a web to a flange 11% disposed against the lower face of the brace leg 88 along the adjacent side of the shelf and connected thereto by screws 1%. The legs are further connected to the shelf by screws Th9 extending through the a stretcher 92 and received in offsets formed in the brace leg 83 along the forward shelf edge.

Conveniently, a e

shouldered plug 110 having a threaded opening extending therethrough is mounted in each of the legs 92. Said pl carries a ground-engaging cap 112 connected to a threaded stud 113 received in the plug opening for rotating said cap relative to the leg 9210 level the shelf 34.

Extending downwardly from one side of the shelf 34' is a modesty panel 115having a downwardly open channel 116 along its upper edge. Said channel is received in an upwardly hooked bracket 118 mounted on the brace leg 88 as by a screw 120. The lower edge of the panel 115 is also formed to provide an upwardly open channel 122, and saidchannel is interconnected to the pedestal by a spring clip 124. As shown in FIG. 15, the clip 124 has a serpentine configuration for the reception of one of its ends 125 in an opening formed in the web of the channel 122 and the reception of its opposite end 126 in an opening 127 formed in the bottom wall of the pedestal 10 for thus interconnecting the lower edge of the panel 115 to said pedestal. The end of the panel 115 adjacent the pedestal 10 is flanged, as at 128, to abut said pedestal when the shelf structure is disposed in its operative position in the pedestal. The opposite end of said panel is bent to abut the inner face of the adjacent leg 92 and is connected to said leg by a plurality of screws 130.

Desirably, an end panel 132 is mounted on the shelf 34' at its end remote from the pedestal 10. As shown in FIG. 13, the panel 132 has vertically extending flanges 134 along its lateral edges connected to the leg 92 by the screws 130. An inwardly directed flange 136 is also formed along the lower edge of the panel 132 and is connected to the leg stretcher 96 by a screw 138. Conveniently, a downwardly open channel 139 is formed along the upper edge of the panel 132 and a plurality of spring clips 140 have one of their ends received in said channel and their opposite ends connected to the stretcher 94 by the screws 109.

The shelf structure illustrated in FIGS. 9-16 is mountable on a desk in the same manner previously described in connection with the shelf structure shown in FIGS. 1-8. When either of the two shelf structures are mounted on the desk, they will be displaced laterally and vertically with respect to the other drawers in the pedestal upon which they are mounted so that those drawers can be opened and closed in their usual manner so that only one drawer need be sacrificed when either of the shelf structures is mounted on the pedestal.

We claim:

1. A shelf structure for a desk, cabinet, or the like, comprising (a) a frame having a bight at one of its ends interconnecting a pair of generally parallel arms adapted to be removably carried in a pair of supporting channels in a desk, cabinet, or the like,

(in) a shelf mounted on said frame in parallelism with said arms and overlaying said bight and the ends of said arms adjacent said bight,

(c) said shelf having a depending peripheral border skirt,

(d) a transversely extending plate abutting said shelf skirt along the transverse shelf edge overlaying said frame arms,

(c) said plate projecting above and below the plan of said shelf and rigidly connected to said shelf .and

frame arms intermediate the length of said arms, and

(f) locking means mounted on said plate for releasably locking said shelf structure on said desk, cabinet, or the like.

2. A shelf structure for a desk, cabinet, or the like, comprising (a) a frame having a bight at one of its ends interconnecting a pair of generally parallel arms adapted to be removably carried in a pair of supporting channels in a desk, cabinet, or the like,

(b) a shelf mounted on said frame in parallelism with (d) means adjacent said plate openings rigidly mounting said plate on said arms at said shelf, and

(e) means rigidly interconnecting said plate, arms, and

shelf.

3. A shelf structure for a desk, cabinet, or the like,

comprising (a) .a frame having a bight at one of its ends intercom necting a pair of generally parallel arms adapted to be removably carried in a pair of supporting channels in a desk, cabinet, or the like,

(b) a shelf mounted on said frame in parallelism with said arms and overlaying said bight and the ends of said arms adjacent said bight,

(c) a transversely extending plate projecting above and below the plane of said shelf and rigidly interconnected to said shelf and frame at points along the length of said arms (d) a bracket mounted on the face of said plate remote.

from said shelf and having a pair of laterally spaced legs interconnected by a top plate, and

(e) a spring-biased latch mounted on said top plate and projecting through an opening formed therein fo lockingly engaging an abutment on said desk, cabinet, or the like,

(f) said plate having an opening formed therein adjacent said latch for permitting access to said latch.

4. A shelf structure as set forth in claim 3 in which (a) said latch comprises a stripof spring steel fixedly connected to said top plate at one of its ends and having its opposite end bent downwardly,

(b) said strip having a pair of upwardly projecting fingers intermediate its ends adapted to lockingly engage said abutment.

5. A shelf structure as set forth in claim .3 in which (a) a smooth edged grommet is carried in said plate opening,

(b) said grommet having a peripherally extending groove around its outer edge received over the portion of the plate defining the edges of said opening.

6. A shelf structure as set forth in claim 1 in which (a) said shelf skirt defines with the top of said shelf an inwardly open channel extending around its marginal edges and received over said bight and the end of at least one frame arm adjacent said bight, and

(b) said plate abuts the web of said channel in a faceto-face relationship along the transverse shelf edge overlaying said arms.

7. A shelf structure as set forth in claim 6 dition that (a) a vertical extending panel is mounted along one side of said shelf,

(b) said panel having an out-turned flange along its upper edge rigidly connected to the lower portion of said 6 channel along one side of said shelf, and

(c) a pair of vertically extending channels formed on the opposed ends of said panel.

8. A shelf structure as set forth in claim 1 with the addition that (a) the end of said shelf remote from said plate projects outwardly beyond said bight, and

(b) a pair of ground-engaging legs are mounted on said outwardly projecting end.

9. A shelf structure as set forth in claim 1 with the 70 addition that (a) said shelf projects longitudinally outwardly beyond said frame,

(b) said shelf having a peripheral brace provided with an inwardly extending flange stretch, and

(c) a pair of ground-engaging legs are rigidly interconwith the adnected to said flange stretch along the end of said panel rem-ote from said frame.

10. A shelf structure as set forth in claim 9 with the addition that (a) a vertically extending panel is mounted along one side of said shelf,

(b) said panel having an offset formed along the upper edge interconnected to said flange stretch and having a vertically extending end stretch connected to one of said pair of ground-engaging legs.

11. A shelf structure as set forth in claim 10 with the addition that (a) an upwardly directed offset is formed along the lower edge of said panel, and

(b) a spring clip is mounted in openings formed in said upwardly directed offset and said desk, cabinet, or the like for interconnecting the same.

12. A shelf structure as set forth in claim 1 with the addition that (a) said shelf projects longitudinally outwardly beyond said frame,

(b) said shelf having an extending brace mounted on its lower face a peripherally extending brace mounted on said shelf having an inwardly projecting flange stretch, and

(c) a leg frame comprising a pair of ground-engaging legs interconnected at their upper ends by a transversely extending stretcher said stretcher being connected to said flange stretch for mounting said leg frame on said shelf.

13. A shelf structure as set forth in claim 12 with the addition that (a) a first depending panel is mounted on said s elf with its upper edge interconnected to said flange 21 L1 stretch and one of its ends connected to one of said pairs of legs, and (b) a second panel extending across said leg frame with its opposed ends connected to said pairs of ground-engaging legs. 14. A shelf structure as set forth in claim 1 in which (a) a pair of brackets are mounted on said arms and are connected to the shelf skirt along the transverse shelf edge overlaying said legs, 7 (h) each of said brackets having a first stretch normal to the plane of said shelf and connected to 'one of said arms, a second stretch parallel to said shelf are connected to the shelf skirt along the transverse abutting said plate in a face-to-face contact and connected thereto, whereby said brackets rigidly interconnect said arms, shelf, and plate.

7 References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,328,019 8/43 Jones 312-194 2,362,047 11/44 Center et a1 312- 208 X 2,370,372 2/45 Riggio 108-152 2,370,607 2/45 Schuh 108-152 2,401,181 5/46 Paxton et al 312-208 2,480,668 8/49 Paxton et a1 108-97 X 2,511,919 6/50 Jones et a1. 312-208 2,588,844 3/52 Jones et a1. 312-208 2,614,011 10/52 Abrahamson 312-208 2,832,658 4/58 Bullock 312-194 3,002,797 10/61 Stark 312-194 3,087,768 4/ 63 Anderson et al 312-263 FRANK B. SHERRY, Primary Examiner;

Ullman 312-208 1 

1. A SHELF STRUCTURE FOR A DESK, CABINET, OR THE LIKE, COMPRISING (A) A FRAME HAVING A BIGHT AT ONE OF ITS ENDS INTERCONNECTING A PAIR OF GENERALLY PARALLEL ARMS ADAPTED TO BE REMOVABLY CARRIED IN A PAIR OF SUPPORTING CHANNELS IN A DESK, CABINET, OR THE LIKE, (B) A SHELF MOUNTED ON SAID FRAME IN PARALLELISM WITH SAID ARMS AND OVERLAYING SAID BIGHT AND THE ENDS OF SAID ARMS ADJACENT SAID BIGHT, (C) SAID SHELF HAVING A DEPENDING PERIPHERAL BORDER SKIRT, (D) A TRANSVERSELY EXTENDING PLATE ABUTTING SAID SHELF SKIRT ALONG THE TRANSVERSE SHELF EDGE OVERLAYING SAID FRAME ARMS, (E) SAID PLATE PROJECTING ABOVE AND BELOW THE PLANE OF SAID SHELF AND RIGIDLY CONNECTED TO SAID SHELF AND FRAME ARMS INTERMEDIATE THE LENGTH OF SAID ARMS, AND (F) LOCKING MEANS MOUNTED ON SAID PLATE FOR RELEASABLY LOCKING SAID SHELF STRUCTURE ON SAID DESK, CABINET, OR THE LIKE. 